Patsy Cline Auction Day: December 19, 2002

Lisa's Side of the Story:

My friends, I have perused the dictionary and am completely unable to locate the precise words so desperately needed to describe these last days. I believe it was all a dream, and at any moment, someone is going to shake me awake and tell me it's time to get up, it's auction day, time to hit the road. I've dreamed about auction day so frequently these last weeks, how do I know if what transpired on the 19th was yet another dream??

A reporter asked me just before the auction, "How did this all get started?" And I was at a complete loss, because I honestly don't know! During the past 6 weeks or so, there were times when I was hopeful and other times when I was unutterably hopeless. Somewhere in between, a movement began. One fact I do know: the movement flame was fanned by my pal, Theresa Shalaby. The next thing I knew, I was making a jillion phone calls, typing emails as fast as I could, and firing my right brain into 100% Creativity Mode to come up with fundraising ideas. Every time a hurdle came up, we agreed to back off and study how to overcome the hurdle from a different angle ~ and we always did. Theresa's tenacity is infectious, and I've learned alot during this roller coaster ride. Key words for all Patsifans to remember, now and in the future:

"THERE  IS  ALWAYS  A  WAY"
~ Theresa Shalaby

We only had a few weeks to raise funds, and here we are in a soft economy, AND it's Christmas. I knew that my local Goodfellows had only been able to raise about 11% of its goal this season, so there could not have been in this world a worse time to ask folks to pony up for something as seemingly frivolous as a clothing auction. And yet, my dear Patsifans, we managed to pool together $3,542.69. None of us is rich, and much of this fund was donated in smallish amounts. It made my heart hurt to see that kinda PatsyLove. I'm so proud of all of us!

When Woody Guthrie was riding the rails as a hobo, his advice for anyone who was hungry was never to ask a rich man, they would always tell him to go away. But if he went to the back door of a poor, humble house, he was always sure to find a meal. When you're really down and out, he said, the only people who will help you are those who have only a little more than you. The rich folks in Nashville ignored us this time, but maybe after seeing what we "little people" have accomplished with our pennies and nickels, perhaps next time they won't be so quick to ignore us! Next time, even the Patsifans who were too skeptical to join this effort will want to participate in the next one.

At some point, when all seemed lost, Theresa volunteered to do the bidding at the auction on behalf of a group in Virginia. It seemed impossible at that time, but we managed to get all the legal i's dotted and legal t's crossed so that she could act as the group's special agent for that once-in-a-lifetime event. Getting set up with Profiles in History required yet another round of legal papers, qualifiers, vaccinations, etc. It took tremendous focus, time, and effort ~ you can't just walk off the street and do this, folks! When that aspect was looking really good, we decided to meet at a hotel in Ohio on auction day, for the sake of convenience and mutual support.

Theresa and I had never met before, although we'd spoken on the phone a jillion times, and surprisingly, we arrived at the hotel at the same time (about noon eastern time), instantly recognizing each other! The first time we hugged, it was like neither of us wanted to end the hug, the emotion was overwhelming. We immediately checked in, hauled all of our stuff to our nice, cozy hotel digs (we had most of this wing to ourselves), and set up our Cline Shrine.

       
The Cline Shrine included our Patsy autographs, a rose from Nella Dr., a blade of grass from Patsy's grave, Theresa's platinum album, a white boot, a gold bootie, a black pump, 2 shades of red lipstick, Dr. Pepper, lots of gold lamé, a bonnet made by Hilda Hensley, some sparkly earrings that Patsy would've loved, EPs, LPs, books, pins, posters, sheet music, lots of pics, a "Cline's Angels" T-shirt, and lots of Wind Song!

We sprayed Wind Song every so often (you could smell it all the way down to the elevator, I'm sure the maid thought we were running a brothel). Theresa brought a ton of Patsy stuff, I brought a ton of Patsy stuff, and we just put it all together, lit a Wind Song candle, faced east and bowed to Patsy's resting place 3 times, and began to plan.

The main plan? That win or lose, we wanted to be able to walk away from this day and be able to hold our heads high, look in the mirror, look at each other, and know that we did everything in our power for Patsy. Lacking a magic wand, it's all you can do.

The auction was still several hours away, so we ran down and grabbed some burgers and brought them back to the room. In reality we were too excited to eat, but these were some dang good burgers, so we didn't let "reality" stand in the way. As planned, our hotel room had 2 phone lines, plus we'd each brought our cell phones, so we were well-connected to the outside world. I had to lurk in the bathroom for my phone calls, as we were both yakking and neither of us could hear ourselves talk! I spoke on the speaker phone to the group excitedly gathered in Virginia, as well as with two reporters from Virginia, including Charlotte with the Northern Virginian-Pilot.

Theresa got the laptop hooked up, and I can't tell you how my adrenaline was pumping just to see the auction page at eBay and to see words to the effect of "Auction will begin shortly." So I did the only thing I could do: I began to pace. I wore down a path in the carpet between the hotel door and Theresa at the computer. Honestly, we were feeling the vibes y'all were sending... the electricity in that room, the energy, the Wind Song, would no doubt conjure the very being of Patsy Cline in that room at any moment, and I was only wondering what she'd be wearing when she showed up! The room snapped, crackled and popped. At one point, the Wind Song candle suddenly flared a good 5 inches at the mere mention of Patsy's name... honey darlins, the Cline was there.

The auction folks had phoned at 3:40 to make sure we were connected and good to go, so Theresa was at the desk the whole time, glued to the phone and laptop. A few minutes until 4pm, I took my place next to her (and who doesn't need a faithful sidekick?), gave her a little neck rub for luck, then we took a few deep breaths and waited. The first item we were going for, the boots, would not pop up for a few minutes, so we watched the earlier lots. Little did I know how quickly the lots would fly... I've never seen a real-time computer page scroll so quickly with numbers! I was also shocked that the first items were not selling... what the heck did that mean? But there was no time to analyze anything; it was time for the boots auction!

For just a split second in time, it seemed like we might win the boots at $3,500. But our competition kicked it up and won them at $3,750. It is probably for the best, because even to win them at $3,500, Theresa and I would've still had to cough up the 15% auction fee ($525) on top of that out of our own pockets. As it was, the next bid would've had to have been $4,000 (which we didn't have) plus a 15% auction fee of $600 = $4,600. We would've needed an additional $1,000+ in our kitty in order to win those boots at $4,000. So while it may look as though we lost the boots by only $250, the reality is far more expensive.

But there was no time for weeping. Things were moving desperately fast. We moved on the first blouse and were allowed to snag it for less than the reserve price! Well, hey, we had enough left to try for the second blouse... went for it... and again, were allowed to snag it for less than the reserve! So we had BOTH blouses for $3,000. That meant we had enough money left in the kitty to cover the auction fee and the shipping costs. Theresa and I clasped hands and squeezed hard! It was done. It was done.

Still stunned and reeling from this, we hungrily watched the remaining items, most of which did not sell. Only 5 items sold during the auction: the boots, Carnegie, the 2 blouses, and the jade lace dress. Some items which have sold afterwards during the negotiation process include the dice maternity outfit, the silver/lavender lamé outfit, and the sky blue cowgirl outfit. Profiles in History now has 30 days to get everything sold, and if they cannot, then it all gets returned to the Patsy's siblings. Perhaps they'll try to sell them on their own or, who knows, perhaps they'll just donate some of them to the museum and take the tax deduction. Hey, a sizeable tax deduction is nothing to sneeze at... it's the next best thing to selling them. When given a choice between some money and no money, most people will settle for some money... eventually. So only time will tell.

The entire auction only took 11 minutes from first lot to last. Another 5 minutes or so pre-auction was information/instruction for the floor bidders.

And it's funny ~ I'm glad that the prices didn't skyrocket, because it meant that we were able to bring some things home for Patsy. But there's another part of me that is tremendously hurt that no one thinks Our Girl is worth a million bucks! It hurts to think that no one out there would want this stuff. It feels like Patsy was rejected somehow.

But on a more positive note: I don't care for it when folks steal my thunder, so I sure as hell am not going to steal anyone else's here. Suffice it to say that even more beautiful things are coming down the pike, all in due time, it's all good, so just go be happy and have a Merry Christmas, Patsifans!

Theresa and I still haven't completely recovered. After the auction, we hung around the hotel in stunned discussion. In this strange new world where Patsifans can get together and make a $3,500 purchase, is water still wet? Does a compass still point north? We only finally managed to scoop up our senses and head out for a meal around 8pm or so. During that meal, we came up with all kinds of wonderful Patsy plans and projects for the future... a genuine movement for Patsy has begun, my friends. Positive, wonderful things are going to happen for Patsy and for Patsifans in the coming weeks, months, even years.

But it's going to take the dedication of everyone ~ there are no stars here. Everyone rolls up his sleeves to perform the same work, and if you aren't prepared to do that, that's cool. The folks who prefer to sit around and play Patsy records and call each other "Hoss" are welcome to do that ~ knock yourselves out ~ but some of us want more! Just don't come to the table with a lot of jawing about what "love" you have for Patsy and then not be prepared to work for her. I don't expect everyone in the world to have the same love of Patsy that I do, but I do expect people who say they do, to do the same work that I am willing to do, that the others in this movement are willing to do, and to make the same types of sacrifices that have been made for this auction fundraiser. If you don't have money, then volunteer to write letters or make phone calls when it is needed (we'll be putting together a task list with phone numbers and addresses, for everyone's convenience). Or perhaps you are an idea person: send your ideas to the Winchester City Council! If you have a question, ask it... it never hurts to ask if (X) has been done. Sitting around and wishing something would get done, does not get it done! Patsy doesn't need bench warmers. A legacy doesn't magically create itself from thin air.

I've been told that the message we should get about Thursday is that there really are not as many Patsifans as we think who are ready to put their money where their mouth is for Patsy.  Well, if that's the case, then it is my hope that our movement will create some... there's a new Patsifan born every day, you know!

But even bearing that in mind, I have to admit that it hurt to see this article a few weeks ago, about some Harry Potter fans trying to raise funds to buy a letter at an auction, a nice grassroots effort... and not one news service paid attention to our news release about our grassroots effort to do the same kind of thing. Poor Patsy! This world doesn't deserve her music.

Anyway, after a late night of chatting, Theresa crashed around 12:30am and I finally shut my eyes at 2:30! The next morning was icy cold and extremely windy. We got our stuff ready to go, then took down the Cline Shrine last. It was very hard to do that, but we figure that the Cline Shrine will always live on in our hearts. I sure did want to take that desk with us ~ the desk where the bidding took place! That's a historical piece of furniture now, and Room 203 is where it happened. Hard to leave it behind.

We zipped over to the restaurant, where they knew us by now, and must've been quite a sight trying to conduct phone business over hot cocoa and burgers. Got everything wrapped up with the auction house... they graciously are providing us with free shipping! So that leaves $92.69 still in the Patsifans' acquisitions fund to build on for future tasks. We did a little more project planning, then it was time for us to say goodbye. That was the hardest of all! But with the projects coming down the pipeline, we figure we'll need to have another meeting in a few months at "PatsyLand West," so we won't be apart for long.

My heartfelt thanks again to everyone who believed in this project and who loved Patsy enough to make some sacrifices here. It is truly hoped that the results that were achieved at this auction can serve as inspiration for future projects... the things we can all accomplish when we work together!
~ Lisa, The Homesick Texan

(Theresa's side of this crazy story is found below, after the blouses, so don't miss it.)

   
GINNY'S BLOUSES
For those who donated to this fund: while it is true that none of us owns these blouses legally, no one can take away the part of your soul that owns them! Every penny counted, and your donation made a live-or-die difference for these blouses. And remember, Patsy wore these blouses more than she ever wore things like Carnegie or Vegas, so they're special, too!!

Theresa's Side of the Story:

November 5, 2002 was the beginning of an unforgettable adventure. I walked into a hotel suite in Nashville to see some of the most historically and sentimentally significant of Patsy's clothing hanging on display, awaiting shipment to be auctioned away from home forever. As I stood there, gazing in awe, heartbreak and anger, I began to wonder what, if anything we could do about this. All around, hearts were heavy, and the feeling of desperation and defeat was in the air. I came home to see Patsified! darkened in mourning/protest of the auction, but behind the scenes, people stopped crying, and started talking....

We wondered whether there was some way that the fans could do something to make a difference. Who are we? What could we possibly do? Patsifans are not rich folks, so we felt completely helpless. Then, through the talking, brainstorming, crying, and praying, came an answer: money could be raised by the fans!! But, how? Who could handle collecting money? What were the legalities involved? Who could bid if money were raised?

We needed a place to set up shop professionally, to give fans a focal point they could trust to send their money. That is where a group in Virginia came into this crazy picture. Here was the official collecting point, a safe, professional, legal place for people to donate. Yeah, ok, this could work….

Well, along with the hard work of Lisa Flood and Bill Cox, the group in Virginia willingly became the protective umbrella of the fans, who have been in the rain for quite some time.

Bill lovingly set up a beautiful page on his website to direct donations and explain the campaign. Lisa worked tirelessly with her contacts in Virginia to iron out details, and to spread the word through the media, as time was short to collect funds. Then, we needed a bidder… who would actually do the bidding on the big day? What was involved? What were the risks? How the hell does this work, anyway?? That's where things got a little crazy for this gal… I just said, "Ok, I'll do it!!!" It seemed simple to me at the time. It seemed to me that anyone could do it, but other folks were not available for many reasons, so I just threw in my Stetson, having little idea of what would be involved, figuring that I would learn along the way.

The group in Virginia spoke to me at length, ascertained that I was fairly sane, and agreed that I would act as their agent to bid on their behalf. I still felt that it was unreal, something that I would just deal with when the time came. Then, the letter of agency came from the group, with Patsy's sweet face on the letterhead, and the official word that I was really to do this. Then, that's when it hit me: the tremendous responsibility of this really hit home. This is not a game, not a thing to be taken lightly. I was now accountable to everyone. It became less and less exciting by the minute, and more and more serious. It was hard to keep quiet about this all of this time, but I felt that it was important to keep that out of the focal point, and just keep rallying for donations. I'm not telling this story for any other reason than to share my experience, and, most importantly of all, to get to say thanks to so many people who helped me as the pressure mounted.

I contacted the folks at Profiles in History, who explained everything very clearly. PiH is a fantastic group of professional, helpful, and knowledgeable people. They explained everything, and how I could bid by phone with a proxy bidder right there on the auction floor. Then, came the paperwork... tons of forms to complete, double check, and send. As the auction day came closer, I grew more and more worried, yet, more and more focussed on the task at hand. My comfort was watching folks rally and work so hard, the donations coming in, the letters and emails going out from so many dedicated fans like Vanessa Prewett and Chantel Turner-Graves, who contacted any and all connections that they have in Nashville; begging, pleading, and never faltering. I watched the message boards all around cyberspace, as folks worked so hard to make this happen. I realized that while we are not rich in money, we are rich in PatsyLove, and surely, that had to lead to something.

As the time drew closer, Lisa had a great idea!! Instead of me doing the bidding at home alone, why couldn't we just meet somewhere centrally, and I could have some great company, and best of all some wonderful moral support. Plus, hell, two heads are always better than one.

Well, ok… she's in Michigan, and I'm in Pennsylvania… and that, dear friends, is how we ended up holed up in a hotel in Ohio!! Lisa made the arrangements for the big day, and we finally met up on 12/19, hours before the big moment. I was so nervous and excited to meet Lisa, and we hit it off famously. Get two strong-willed, opinionated Patsifans together, and look out!!!! I just want to say right here, that Lisa is all that you would imagine, and more. She is a wonderful, funny, sweet gal with pure Patsylove, and I am thrilled to finally have the chance to have met her. Even if the auction yielded nothing, I have gained a good friend, so thanks, Lisa, my friend.

We checked in, and the first order of business was to set up our Cline Shrine. Why?? For all the luck in the world, of course! Between the two of us, we had autographs, records, pictures, a bonnet that Mom Hensley made, a white cowgirl boot, a high-heeled pump, a gold bootie, and much more. Lisa sprayed Patsy's Wind Song perfume, lit a Wind Song candle, and we were ready. Patsy's sweet voice filled the room of course, and we began to prepare for the big moment.

Then, it was off to lunch at Big Boy for, of course, cheeseburgers!!

We came back, and I got the computer set up, and did some last minute number crunching for a bidding decision tree based on the money we had, and the bid increments set forth by PiH, while Lisa manned the phones with reporters from Virginia.

Twenty minutes before the auction, Lorna from PiH called to confirm the phone number, and to give me last minute instructions about how things would work, and to tell me that she would be acting as my proxy bidder. She was wonderful; very calm, and interestingly, very encouraging. She said that PiH was touched buy our grassroots fan effort, and that as a matter of fact, someone from PiH had donated to our cause. I can't tell you how that made me feel. It seemed as though all of the love and hard work of so many people for Patsy was finally noticed, and uplifted, which was again, a gift that felt even more important than what we may or may not win. Lorna explained that she would tell me what the current bid was, and would ask me if I wanted to go to the next level, or stop. It was that simple. PiH did everything possible to make this a positive and easy experience, so thanks, Lorna, Fong, Sarah, and PiH, who also, by the way, kindly waived the shipping fee for us for any items won.

Then, the big moment arrived. I was watching the auction on the laptop, and talking to Lorna at the same time. Lisa pulled her chair up next to me, and just having her there beside me was such a comfort. I don't know that I could have done this alone, so thanks again, Lisa.

The items were going quickly, some meeting the reserve price, and some not. Then our first item came up: The White Boots. It was between one other bidder and me. I had them, then I didn't, then I had them again... it was agony... then, the bidding went well above what we had. Between the price of the boots, and the 15% fee that would need to be paid to PiH, we lost those darlins by $1,000. So, take heart, it wasn't by a whisker that we lost them, but it did hurt. However, there was no time to mourn them because the auction was flying by!!! Each item going in seconds!! Lorna kindly kept me up to speed on all of the activity, even items that were beyond our ability to bid on. Our next target was to try for one of the Western blouses. We figured that we could only get one, based on the listed minimum opening bid of $2,000. BUT, the yellow one opened at $1,000!!! I couldn't believe it!!! We nailed it at $1500, and realized that there was money left over to go for the next blouse too!!! When I bid on that one, and got it too (also for $1500), I couldn't describe the utter joy and relief that I felt. Lorna was fantastic, and gave us a truly heartfelt congratulations. I could tell that she was deeply pleased, and it warmed my heart so much.

So, in 16 minutes, it was all over… all of the worrying, planning, talking, e-mailing, ups, downs, and forging of relationships and friendships along the way, it was done… WOW! Lisa and I were utterly numb… couldn't cry, just started laughing. There was no time to really deal with much, as Lisa was back to the phones, with the gang in Virginia. That gave me time to think about what had just happened. What WE ALL as fans had just accomplished. WE made a difference, we banded together, there were no stars, no "I," just "WE." Are we disappointed that we didn't get something "bigger"?? No, I don't think so. These two blouses are just Ginny, our gal... what better place for them to be than back home? If other things come along and get donated, why then, that's great… We'd have Ginny and Patsy… the circle closes. How perfect is that??

To all of you, each and every last one of you reading this, who gave money, who asked someone else to give for you if you couldn't, who just gave an encouraging word, who e-mailed, called, pleaded, and offered help, who were working tirelessly, who made frantic phone calls to button down the last-minute details, who posted at their own websites, who were friends and support systems to us who were in the thick of this: thank you from the bottom of my heart. This is about way more than winning something to bring home to Virginia; this was about what we could do if we, as fans, took a stand for Patsy. This is the dawn of a new era for Patsy Cline. One in which fans can do FOR her, make a difference FOR her, and her memory. This is only the beginning; there is so much for us to do, so let's not forget that. We've done Patsy proud by showing courage, strength, and conviction, all of which are qualities that Patsy herself possessed, and which are an inspiration to me.

Just one last thing: thanks to Chantel for being my friend, sounding board, and shoulder to cry on, and thanks to my poor hubby, who has faced many days of take-out food, and lonely evenings while I dealt with all of this, so thank you, my darlin'. And, thank you Patsy for being in that room, and for driving us along with your courage and spirit. Most of all, thank YOU. WE ALL did it. Congratulations to each and every one of you.
~ Theresa Shalaby

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